what is called stress sweat
stress stress
like i was
just just a little tilted
today we're going to discuss five signs
you could have social anxiety and i will
also share three ways you can overcome
it so make sure you stick around towards
the end to get those helpful tools now
let's get into it
first let's define social anxiety and
according to the dsm or diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders
it is characterized by
a marked fear or anxiety about one or
more social situations in which the
individual is exposed to possible
scrutiny by others like meeting new
people giving a speech or having someone
watch you do something like eat or work
on something we also have to fear that
we will act in a way or show anxiety
symptoms that will be negatively
evaluated
social situations almost always provoke
fear or anxiety and therefore we avoid
them or endure them with intense fear or
anxiety
now these feelings of fear and anxiety
are out of proportion to the actual
threat posed by the social situation
and these feelings are persistent
lasting for six months or more
also social anxiety is different from
shyness because being shy is a
personality trait and is something
manageable
whereas social anxiety is a mental
illness that causes uncontrollable worry
and it impairs our ability to function
in our life
and i have a whole video on the
difference between social anxiety and
shyness if you want to learn more
since the diagnostic criteria doesn't
really tell us how social anxiety can
look or what it can feel like let's get
into those five signs and the first sign
is that we are super self-conscious
since a lot of social anxiety stems from
our fear that we will do something
embarrassing or someone won't like us we
can become acutely aware of everything
we do and say not to mention how we look
we can try and think through what we
plan to say before we say it
or try to play out how people will
respond to us or react and we can even
try and mimic other people's behavior so
that we don't look strange or stand out
and we can struggle to concentrate make
eye contact and communicate what we're
thinking
this can make it hard for us to be
present in conversations or even keep up
with what's being said and that can in
turn
affect our work or school not to mention
our relationships
today's video is sponsored by better
help in honor of mental health awareness
month this year's theme is together for
mental health it can be helpful to hear
from others who have been through tough
times too and to remind us that we're
not alone in our struggles better help
is more affordable than traditional
therapy and you can apply for financial
aid during the sign up process and they
accept hsa benefits
there is a broad range of expertise in
better helps twenty thousand plus
therapist network that gives you access
to help that may not be available in
your area
you just fill out a questionnaire to
help assess your specific needs and you
get matched with a therapist in 48 hours
and you can request a new therapist at
no additional charge any time
this mental health month if you or
someone you know is struggling please
share better help with them that's
better h-e-l-p and you can use my link
to get 10 off your first month at
betterhelp.com forward slash katie
number two
we fear regular social situations and
avoid them as much as possible it's
normal to be a bit nervous or anxious
when we're performing in front of people
or meeting someone for the first time
but when we have social anxiety it would
be hard for us to be a part of a normal
social situation like going to a short
lunch with friends we've known for years
or asking a colleague for a quick
question about work
we can put off these social situations
or look for ways around them so that we
don't have to put ourselves in that
uncomfortable position
many of my patients with social anxiety
were relieved to get to work from home
these past two years because it gave
them a break from all of that and they
were finally able to work without
intense levels of anxiety
number three
we replay social interactions over and
over again
i had this patient years ago who came to
me because she wasn't sleeping well
and she couldn't figure out what was
causing it she had been to her regular
doctor who then referred her to me and
after multiple sessions she disclosed
that when she laid down to go to sleep
she would replay each and every social
interaction she had had that day and
judge her responses this would take her
hours and even when she'd finished going
through all of them she felt the need to
dig into the ones that she thought went
poorly and go over them yet again
this need to play and replay our social
interactions is a huge sign that we're
struggling with social anxiety
number four
we have digestive issues that pop out of
nowhere
when it comes to this sign we need to
first obviously rule out any medical
issues that could cause the nausea loud
gurgling stomach and possibly diarrhea
but if there isn't any organic cause it
could be linked to our social anxiety
when we are stressed our body releases
hormones and neurotransmitters that can
negatively affect the balance of
bacteria in our gut
and the way that our intestines move
waste through our digestive tract this
can cause bloating gas nausea diarrhea
and many other digestive issues
and long-term effects of this stress on
our system can also lead to things like
acid reflux irritable bowel syndrome and
it can cause a flare-up if we've already
been diagnosed with crohn's or
ulcerative colitis
number five
excessive sweating
regular sweating happens when we work
out or are outside in the hot sun and
it's done to cool our body down and
regulate our temperature
it is released from our eccrine glands
and is composed of potassium water and
salt
that type of sweat is actually different
from what is called stress sweat stress
sweat is released from apocrine glands
and is made up of fatty acids and
proteins
when our body is reacting to our strong
worry that we are going to be
embarrassed or as we relive a social
interaction that didn't go well
our body begins to heat up
we feel ashamed and our face back and
neck can all start to get really hot
and that's when our apocrine glands
release sweat to help cool us down
if we're feeling anxious and overwhelmed
most of the time we can find ourselves
sweating constantly and struggle to get
it to stop
as always i don't just want to leave you
with the signs but also offer three ways
that we can better manage our symptoms
of social anxiety number one
build up our resources for calming our
system down since our anxiety symptoms
increase the more agitated we become
it's best to take some time and figure
out what helps us feel better
is it taking a short break from people
maybe deep breathing helps
or doing a full body shake as you know
that's a personal fave so try out some
different coping skills and see which
ones can be resources for you as you try
to manage your symptoms of social
anxiety
two gradual exposure therapy
meaning that once we have our resources
down pat
we are going to have to put them to good
use and slowly introduce ourselves to
anxiety producing situations
make a list going from least anxiety
producing to most and slowly make your
way through it using your resources
could we imagine ourselves doing some of
them first just in our head
maybe bring a supportive person with us
when we go to first try it out the goal
here is to prove to our brain that what
we thought was going to be so terrible
really isn't that bad
and thus stopping that annoying anxiety
feeling
and another reason that i love this
treatment is because it rarely needs to
be repeated
meaning that once we're able to work our
way through our list
we don't have to keep working at it
sure when things are intensely stressful
we may need a booster session here or
there but it's really rare so go ahead
and give this one a try
number three
notice your self-talk and try to move it
into a more neutral place
we spend so much of our time talking
trash to ourselves about things that we
said or should have said or weird ways
we acted around important people
stop
pay attention to the conversation that
you're having with yourself and i
challenge you to move it into a more
neutral place using bridge statements
meaning that instead of letting our
brain tell us that you know i'm such a
weirdo and no one likes me
i'm going to push back and instead i'm
going to tell myself you know i may be a
little bit different from others but
thinking like that
doesn't help anything now i know that
new thought it isn't a positive one
but it's not negative either
and trust me when i tell you that you
will feel that difference
i hope you found this all helpful
please feel free to share any of your
tips tools or whatever thoughts you have
in those comments down below
have a wonderful rest of your day and i
will see you next time
[Music]
oh yes finish him and then like finally
[Laughter]
oh my god i used to love i'd always have
to be the girl with the hair and she'd
be like yeah
you're the fastest one i think so